


The Sun Also Rises

by polandspringz



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Platonic Relationships, my prediction for the ending, spoilers for episode 8, strictly business relationship but i mean we know something is going on so read either way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29810505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polandspringz/pseuds/polandspringz
Summary: “If people bring so much courage to this world, the world has to kill them and break them… It kills the very good and the gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”-Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to ArmsAdam loses the final round of the tournament. Tadashi drives him home.
Relationships: Kikuchi Tadashi & Shindo Ainosuke | Adam, Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke | Adam
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	The Sun Also Rises

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished rereading A Farewell to Arms and got inspired when I remembered the ending of The Sun Also Rises, so after a day of thinking on it I wrote this story in about an hour and a half. I've been a Tadashi stan since I first saw him so as much as I want to write something for Reki and Langa... this was the only idea I had to contribute to the SK8 fandom right now.

The light of daybreak crested over the ocean horizon of the waters of Okinawa. The ride was silent as the car rolled across the smooth, empty roads of the early dawn. As the sun rose up, the sky glowed bright orange behind the thick clouds of white that cast continuous bars of shadows over the car, until at last, the car hit a bump, and the sun broke through.

Adam did not blink as the orange beams of light finally pierced the window, violently bright streaks pushing past him, leaving only a gray silhouette on the other side of the backseat of a mussed up, broken man. The underside of the clouds did not glow a golden tint but instead a sickly yellow, a mixture that was swirling with black and green that stained the sky as the sun burned his eyes. He did not blink. He did not speak. The radio was off.

Tadashi was silent from the driver’s seat. A glance back in the rear view mirror was not needed. Adam’s face had been frozen with the same disbelief and shock since the door had closed in his face after Tadashi had ushered him into the seat.

They hit another bump. Tadashi registered a small thump as a broken skateboard jostled inside the trunk.

Well, there would be time to repair that later.

They had been driving for hours now. Since dusk.

Another bump. The roads of the beach side drive were beginning to give way to the more worn down streets of the industrialized resort district. Tadashi swerved around a small pothole.

Another bump.

Adam’s lips finally parted, a shuddering intake of breath- as though it was his last- escaping them as he suddenly rasped.

“Tadashi, where are we going?”

_He’s finally aware, it seems._

When Tadashi didn’t respond, Adam’s arms slowly came up to wrap around himself. His matador costume was dirty and torn, his gloves shredded where he had drifted wrong and fell, his hand scraping along the rusted railings and beams of the abandoned warehouse. The sole of his shoe was falling off too. He was reminded of it when he crossed his legs and felt the draft as it flapped off his foot.

Tadashi liked to believe he was strong enough to not look back, but he let out a sigh when he caught his own eyes drifting in the mirror. He tightened his grip on the wheel as he returned back to looking at the road.

“Home, Ainosuke- _sama_. _Home_.”

Adam’s response was so quiet, had he not repeated it, Tadashi would have missed it entirely.

_“Don’t call me that.”_

“...I’m taking you home, _Adam_.”

That wasn’t what he meant and they both knew it, but Adam was too overwhelmed to ask again. Besides, Tadashi had been acting strange ever since Adam-

He choked at the memory, raising a hand to his mouth as he felt bile in his throat for a moment before he calmed down.

-ever since Adam had _lost._ So much had happened so quickly. Adam’s fingers flexed and he could still remember the feeling. It was like he was still there; his feet were still swaying on the board, he was still flying high as he soared down the warehouse’s scaffolding. He jumped to do a trick and reached out for his board when he…

...When he slipped. He could still feel the burning sting of where the metal railing had escaped his grasp. He had gone tumbling, falling out of the sky like a bird that was shot in the wings. He had fallen from one rung to another, too startled to catch himself as his _opponent_ jumped and passed him by, soaring high as he banged against every beam until he just narrowly avoided slamming painfully into the dirt. He gained leverage on the final beam, but it was not enough to help him get back to his feet. His board was gone, and so he dropped from the beam onto the ground, picking up the broken pink and red piece of wood that had shattered where he should have fallen.

There had been a moment of silence. No doubt shocked at the King of S losing. But then there was a roar of celebration. And before he knew it, Tadashi was there and tugging him into the car.

“This isn’t the way home,” Adam remarked.

“I decided to take the scenic route. I thought it would help calm you down.”

Regardless, they could have been home hours ago. They had quickly fled from Crazy Rock, Tadashi getting them far enough away from the noise before pulling into an abandoned lot and parking. Perhaps he thought Adam needed time to process it, perhaps he thought he would go into a rage. Even when none of that happened, Tadashi continued to sit and wait. He did not start the car again until three a.m. had passed.

“Do you need to go to a hospital?”

“If that was really your concern, you should have taken me there right away instead of sitting in the dark for half the night,” Adam scoffed, some of his normal venom returning. His eyes were still scared though.

“I figured you would have told me if you were injured.”

“I figured you wouldn’t need me to **think** for you when something was so obvious. I suppose I thought too highly of you,” he had enough nerve to laugh.

Tadashi turned the car around the corner at an even speed. They would be getting close to the estate soon. The palm trees and sand gave way to more city streets and sidewalks.

“I don’t think I need to remind you _who_ you lost to, Adam.”

His laughter cut short at that, his mouth clamming shut as he looked out the window as the light inside the car turned a shallow blue, the rays hidden behind the buildings of the shops and hotels as they drove past. Tadashi focused back on the road and drove.

* * *

The car was shifted into park, and then the ignition was turned off. They were right in front of the estate, stopped dead rather than Tadashi leaving Adam and driving off to the garage closer to the gates of the estate. It was close to six a.m. now, later than any time they had ever returned from S at. Adam did not get out of the car. He had moved to, but then the doors all locked abruptly. He could have easily undid it, but he was growing more and more unnerved and displeased with Tadashi's attitude right now. With some of his confidence swelling back inside of him, he glared at the reflection of the man.

“Acting childish?”

“I thought we could… finally have a talk.”

“Oh? I thought you had no opinions?”

Tadashi didn’t take the bait. Somehow that was more annoying right now even though he was usually this docile and silent. Adam couldn’t read him, despite his neutral, bland expression it was obvious he was storming about _something._

“Fine. I’ll humor you. What?”

Tadashi ignored the flamboyant hand gestures, and shot straight to the point.

“How are you… feeling?”

“What? You’re going to make a big show about talking to me and then not even have the confidence to say what you’re actually thinking?”

“Adam-”

“Now’s the time to call me just by my name, Tadashi.”

“Ainosuke- ** _sama_** -”

“No, that’s not what I- Nevermind. You know what? I want to get this over with. How do you think I’m feeling? I’m acting just fine, aren’t I?”

“You really don’t feel anything? After everything that just happened?”

“How do you think I’m _supposed_ to feel, Tadashi? Were you expecting me to come sobbing back to you? To be on my knees asking for you to forgive me?” He tossed his head back and sighed, throwing a hand over his eyes as he pinched his temples.

“You lost everything tonight though.”

“Did I really? So I can’t go back there, big deal. They may celebrate now, but they don’t know what they’re in for. They won’t be able to fund all those screens, the cameras. Quickly everything will deteriorate and get broken into. They’ll lose security, I’ll call the police and everything will get shut down. The troublesome ones will be arrested. I haven’t lost anything. They’re _nothing_ without me.”

“Is that how you really feel?”

“I’ll just find a new location. _S_ was always about the spectacle, they’ll all leave without the show I put on, Cherry and Joe won’t be able to match my-”

“No one will skate with you anymore. It won’t matter if you build it anew. They won’t come crawling back to you.”

Adam watched the tensing of Tadashi’s shoulders, and a sickened frown twisted across his face, “Oh? Is there something more you’re wanting to say? Why hold your tongue, _Snake?”_

He took a sick satisfaction in the way Tadashi flinched at the name. Even now, he still held such strong power over the man-

“How do you even know the police won’t tie you back to _S_ when you call them to search there? How do you know you’ll be safe when there’s still the Diet issues and-”

“Because I have you to take the fall, Tadashi. Are you done with your little act of defiance now? I’m tired, and would like to go inside, since you didn’t feel like taking me to a hospital-”

_“There would have been questions about your injury-”_ Tadashi muttered, bowing his head.

“-and so now I’ll have to ask one of the other servants to drive me after I rest for a bit. I’ll need you to call and cancel my meetings for the rest of the day, I’m really not in the mood to speak to anyone in this state-”

_“The inspector would come to interrogate you the moment she heard-”_

Adam adjusted his jacket and pressed the unlock button, reaching for the handle as he added, “It’s a shame really. Had you been smarter and better back then, we could’ve had such a damn good time together. Maybe then I wouldn’t see you as anything more than an annoying dog.”

Before he could pull the handle, Tadashi was standing up and outside on the other side of it, yanking it open so he stood directly in Adam’s way. His dark suit blocked out the sun, shadows engulfing the front of his face, the sun barely touching his eyes as tears welled up and he struggled to speak.

The sound of sirens wailed and in an instant the noise was surrounding them. The red and blue lights clashed against the orange sky as Tadashi stepped out of the way, the bright light burning Adam’s eyes as the shadows of that woman and several other officers appeared. Adam could only watch as a smile stretched across Tadashi’s face, the tears making his sad, satisfaction all the brighter as he said:

_“Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?”_

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if you can tell but I was torn about how I wanted the story to end. Halfway through I was thinking "maybe I'll have it end on a more positive note" since I feel that's more of where the show is going canonically, but it didn't work well with my idea for the final line so I decided to just stick with my instinct of "Adam goes to jail". Intentionally left it ambiguous about who was the finalist against Adam since I thought it worked better. If you haven't read Hemingway you probably think the ending is a bit too formal, lol, but either way, I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
